Same same but different: Locational policies in small and medium-sized European cities

Globalized interurban competition is affecting cities of various sizes and locations. Small and medium-sized cities have to find ways to position themselves in global markets by formulating locational policies. This paper outlines an analytical framework of locational policies that cities adopt in order to increase their competitiveness. By comparing two European small and mediumsized cities (Lucerne and Ulm), we examine manifestations of locational policies and compare if these policies are being diverse or resemble each other. We found that strategies of both cities are sharing the intentions to be competitive, but their policy choices differ because the economic and political context is enabling or restricting certain kinds of locational policies. Furthermore, the findings point to the high explanatory power of municipal tax autonomy when studying locational policies.

Comparison of patients in three different rehabilitation settings after knee or hip arthroplasty: a natural observational, prospective study.

BACKGROUND Patients after primary hip or knee replacement surgery can benefit from postoperative treatment in terms of improvement of independence in ambulation, transfers, range of motion and muscle strength. After discharge from hospital, patients are referred to different treatment destination and modalities: intensive inpatient rehabilitation (IR), cure (medically prescribed stay at a convalescence center), or ambulatory treatment (AT) at home. The purpose of this study was to 1) measure functional health (primary outcome) and function relevant factors in patients with hip or knee arthroplasty and to compare them in relation to three postoperative management strategies: AT, Cure and IR and 2) compare the post-operative changes in patient's health status (between preoperative and the 6 month follow-up) for three rehabilitation settings. METHODS Natural observational, prospective two-center study with follow-up. Sociodemographic data and functional mobility tests, Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Iowa Level of Assistance Scale (ILOAS) of 201 patients were analysed before arthroplasty and at the end of acute hospital stay (mean duration of stay: 9.7 days +/- 3.9). Changes in health state were measured with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) before and 6 months after arthroplasty. RESULTS Compared to patients referred for IR and Cure, patients referred for AT were significantly younger and less comorbid. Patients admitted to IR had the highest functional disability before arthroplasty. Before rehabilitation, mean TUG was 40.0 s in the IR group, 33.9 s in the Cure group, and 27.5 s in the AT group, and corresponding mean ILOAS was 16.0, 13.0 and 12.2 (50.0 = worst). At the 6 months follow-up, the corresponding effect sizes of the WOMAC global score were 1.32, 1.87, and 1.51 (>0 means improvement). CONCLUSIONS Age, comorbidity and functional disability are associated with referral for intensive inpatient rehabilitation after hip or knee arthroplasty and partly affect health changes after rehabilitation.

Magnetic properties, grain sizes, XRF Scanner Data of sediment core GeoB9307-3

Geochemical and mineralogical proxies for paleoenvironmental conditions have the underlying assumption that climate variations have an impact on terrestrial weathering conditions. Varying properties of terrigenous sediments deposited at sea are therefore often interpreted in terms of paleoenvironmental change. Also in gravity core GeoB9307-3 (18° 33.99' S, 37° 22.89' E), located off the Zambezi River, environmental changes during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS 1) and the Younger Dryas (YD) are accompanied by changing properties of the terrigenous sediment fraction. Our study focuses on the relationship of variability in the hydrological system and changes in the magnetic properties, major element geochemistry and granulometry of the sediments. We propose that changes in bulk sedimentary properties concur with environmental change, although not as a direct response of climate driven pedogenic processes. Spatial varying rainfall intensities on a sub-basin scale modify sediment export from different parts of the Zambezi River basin. During humid phases, such as HS 1 and the YD, sediment was mainly exported from the coastal areas, while during more arid phases sediments mirror the hinterland soil and lithological properties and are likely derived from the northern Shire sub-basin. We propose that a de-coupling of sedimentological and organic signals with variable discharge and erosional activity can occur.

Tab. 2: Grain-sizes of cobble on the surface of sanderwurzel

yResults of 13 field investigations between 1966 and 1990 of the southwestern to eastern margin of Kötlujökull and its proglacial area are summarized with respect to sandar and their formation. Generally, the results are based on sedimentological examinations in the field and laboratory, on analyses of aerial photographs, and investigations of the glacier slope. The methods permitted a more detailed reconstruction of sandar evolution in the proglacial area of Kötlujökull since 1945, of tendencies in development and of single data going back until the last decades of the 19th century. Accordingly, there existed special periods of "flachsander"-formations with raised coarsegrained "sanderwurzels" resultant from the outbreak of subglacial meltwater tunneloutlets and other periods with "hochsander-"formations by supraglacial drainage. At present the belts of hochsanders in front of the glacier come up to more than 4 m in thickness and 1000 m in width, therefore containing perhaps more sediment direct in front of Kötlujökull than the old belts of flachsanderwurzels. In one case the explosion-like subglacial meltwater outburst combined with the genesis of a sanderwurzel could be observed for a time and is thoroughly discussed. The event is referred to the outburst of a sub- to inglacial meltwater body being under extreme hydrostatic press ures which is combined with the genesis of a new subglacial tunneloutlet as a new flachsander. Often these outbursts led to the destruction of a morainic belt more than 1000 m in width. Presumably the whole event was finished in not more than a few days. In addition to a characteristic pear-shaped form and water-moved stones up to diameters of 1 m the wurzels possess a single "main-channel" with rectangular cross-sections as far as 4 m deep and 50 m wide just as small flat channels resembling fish bones in connection with the main channel. Presumably, they have been active only in the last stage of wurzel formation. With regard to the subglacial tunnel gates long-living L-meltwater outlets are distinguished from short-living K-meltwater outlets. These are always combined with a raised coarse-grained sanderwurzel, but its meltwater discharge is generally decreasing and ceases after some years, whereas the discharge of L-meltwater outlets continues unchanged for long times (except seasonal differences). The material of flachsanders is preponderantly composed of mugearitic and andesitic cobble extending at least for some kilometres from the glacier margin, whereas the hochsanders correspond to medium to coarse sands without clay and without alternations into the direction of flow. The hochsander fans are covered with small braidet channels. Their sedimentary structures are determined by the short time changing of supraglacial meltwater discharge and the upper flow regime combined with the development of antidunes, which rule the channel-flows during the main activity periods in summer. Unlike the subglacial drainage the supraglacial drainage led to only weak effects of erosion on the glacier foreland. So the hochsanders refilled depressions of morainic areas or grew up on older flachsanderwurzels. Whereas all large flachsanders developed in front of approximate stationary glacier margins, the evolution of coherent belts of hochsanders were combined with progressive glacier fronts. On the other hand, there was obviously no evolution at all of large sandar in front of back-melting margins of Kötlujökull. Based on examinations of the glacier surface and on analyses of aerial photographs the different types of sandar are referred to different structures of the glacier snout. Finally chances of surviving of sandar in the proglacial area of Kötlujökull are shortly discussed just as the possibility of an application of the Islandic research results on Pleistocene sandar in northern Germany.

Abundance and sizes of European oak species (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl., Quercus robur L.) in dependence of neighborhood and environmental factors

Quercus robur L. (pedunculate oak) and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. (sessile oak) are two European oak species of great economic and ecological importance. Even though both oaks have wide ecological amplitudes of suitable growing conditions, forests dominated by oaks often fail to regenerate naturally. The regeneration performance of both oak species is assumed to be subject to a variety of variables that interact with one another in complex ways. The novel approach of this research was to study the effect of many ecological variables on the regeneration performance of both oak species together and identify key variables and interactions for different development stages of the oak regeneration on a large scale in the field. For this purpose, overstory and regeneration inventories were conducted in oak dominated forests throughout southern Germany and paired with data on browsing, soil, and light availability. The study was able to verify the assumption that the occurrence of oak regeneration depends on a set of variables and their interactions. Specifically, combinations of site and stand specific variables such as light availability, soil pH and iron content on the one hand, and basal area and species composition of the overstory on the other hand. Also browsing pressure was related to oak abundance. The results also show that the importance of variables and their combinations differs among the development stages of the regeneration. Light availability becomes more important during later development stages, whereas the number of oaks in the overstory is important during early development stages. We conclude that successful natural oak regeneration is more likely to be achieved on sites with lower fertility and requires constantly controlling overstory density. Initially sufficient mature oaks in the overstory should be ensured. In later stages, overstory density should be reduced continuously to meet the increasing light demand of oak seedlings and saplings.

Measurements of gastropods shell sizes from 23 fossil and extant long-lived lakes

Aim: To investigate shell size variation among gastropod faunas of fossil and recent long-lived European lakes and discuss potential underlying processes. Location: 23 long-lived lakes of the Miocene to Recent of Europe. Methods: Based on a dataset of 1412 species of both fossil and extant lacustrine gastropods, we assessed differences in shell size in terms of characteristics of the faunas (species richness, degree of endemism, differences in family composition) and the lakes (surface area, latitude and longitude of lake centroid, distance to closest neighbouring lake) using multiple and linear regression models. Because of a strong species-area relationship, we used resampling to determine whether any observed correlation is driven by that relationship. Results: The regression models indicated size range expansion rather than unidirectional increase or decrease as the dominant pattern of size evolution. The multiple regression models for size range and maximum and minimum size were statistically significant, while the model with mean size was not. Individual contributions and linear regressions indicated species richness and lake surface area as best predictors for size changes. Resampling analysis revealed no significant effects of species richness on the observed patterns. The correlations are comparable across families of different size classes, suggesting a general pattern. Main conclusions: Among the chosen variables, species richness and lake surface area are the most robust predictors of shell size in long-lived lake gastropods. Although the most outstanding and attractive examples for size evolution in lacustrine gastropods derive from lakes with extensive durations, shell size appears to be independent of the duration of the lake as well as longevity of a species. The analogue of long-lived lakes as 'evolutionary islands' does not hold for developments of shell size because different sets of parameters predict size changes.

Whale sightings, group sizes and krill biomass in West Greenland in 2005

This study combined data on fin whale Balaenoptera physalus, humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae, minke whale B. acutorostrata, and sei whale B. borealis sightings from large-scale visual aerial and ship-based surveys (248 and 157 sightings, respectively) with synoptic acoustic sampling of krill Meganyctiphanes norvegica and Thysanoessa sp. abundance in September 2005 in West Greenland to examine the relationships between whales and their prey. Krill densities were obtained by converting relationships of volume backscattering strengths at multiple frequencies to a numerical density using an estimate of krill target strength. Krill data were vertically integrated in 25 m depth bins between 0 and 300 m to obtain water column biomass (g/m**2) and translated to density surfaces using ordinary kriging. Standard regression models (Generalized Additive Modeling, GAM, and Generalized Linear Modeling, GLM) were developed to identify important explanatory variables relating the presence, absence, and density of large whales to the physical and biological environment and different survey platforms. Large baleen whales were concentrated in 3 focal areas: (1) the northern edge of Lille Hellefiske bank between 65 and 67°N, (2) north of Paamiut at 63°N, and (3) in South Greenland between 60 and 61° N. There was a bimodal pattern of mean krill density between depths, with one peak between 50 and 75 m (mean 0.75 g/m**2, SD 2.74) and another between 225 and 275 m (mean 1.2 to 1.3 g/m**2, SD 23 to 19). Water column krill biomass was 3 times higher in South Greenland than at any other site along the coast. Total depth-integrated krill biomass was 1.3 x 10**9 (CV 0.11). Models indicated the most important parameter in predicting large baleen whale presence was integrated krill abundance, although this relationship was only significant for sightings obtained on the ship survey. This suggests that a high degree of spatio-temporal synchrony in observations is necessary for quantifying predator-prey relationships. Krill biomass was most predictive of whale presence at depths >150 m, suggesting a threshold depth below which it is energetically optimal for baleen whales to forage on krill in West Greenland.

Comparison of fractal dimensions based on segmented NDVI fields obtained from different remote sensors.

Satellite image data have become an important source of information for monitoring vegetation and mapping land cover at several scales. Beside this, the distribution and phenology of vegetation is largely associated with climate, terrain characteristics and human activity. Various vegetation indices have been developed for qualitative and quantitative assessment of vegetation using remote spectral measurements. In particular, sensors with spectral bands in the red (RED) and near-infrared (NIR) lend themselves well to vegetation monitoring and based on them [(NIR - RED) / (NIR + RED)] Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been widespread used. Given that the characteristics of spectral bands in RED and NIR vary distinctly from sensor to sensor, NDVI values based on data from different instruments will not be directly comparable. The spatial resolution also varies significantly between sensors, as well as within a given scene in the case of wide-angle and oblique sensors. As a result, NDVI values will vary according to combinations of the heterogeneity and scale of terrestrial surfaces and pixel footprint sizes. Therefore, the question arises as to the impact of differences in spectral and spatial resolutions on vegetation indices like the NDVI. The aim of this study is to establish a comparison between two different sensors in their NDVI values at different spatial resolutions.

Zone design of specific sizes using adaptive additively weighted voronoi diagrams

Territory or zone design processes entail partitioning a geographic space, organized as a set of areal units, into different regions or zones according to a specific set of criteria that are dependent on the application context. In most cases, the aim is to create zones of approximately equal sizes (zones with equal numbers of inhabitants, same average sales, etc.). However, some of the new applications that have emerged, particularly in the context of sustainable development policies, are aimed at defining zones of a predetermined, though not necessarily similar, size. In addition, the zones should be built around a given set of seeds. This type of partitioning has not been sufficiently researched; therefore, there are no known approaches for automated zone delimitation. This study proposes a new method based on a discrete version of the adaptive additively weighted Voronoi diagram that makes it possible to partition a two-dimensional space into zones of specific sizes, taking both the position and the weight of each seed into account. The method consists of repeatedly solving a traditional additively weighted Voronoi diagram, so that each seed?s weight is updated at every iteration. The zones are geographically connected using a metric based on the shortest path. Tests conducted on the extensive farming system of three municipalities in Castile-La Mancha (Spain) have established that the proposed heuristic procedure is valid for solving this type of partitioning problem. Nevertheless, these tests confirmed that the given seed position determines the spatial configuration the method must solve and this may have a great impact on the resulting partition.

Comparison of NDVI fields obtained from different remote sensors

Satellite image data have become an important source of information for monitoring vegetation and mapping land cover at several scales. Beside this, the distribution and phenology of vegetation is largely associated with climate, terrain characteristics and human activity. Various vegetation indices have been developed for qualitative and quantitative assessment of vegetation using remote spectral measurements. In particular, sensors with spectral bands in the red (RED) and near-infrared (NIR) lend themselves well to vegetation monitoring and based on them [(NIR - RED) / (NIR + RED)] Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been widespread used. Given that the characteristics of spectral bands in RED and NIR vary distinctly from sensor to sensor, NDVI values based on data from different instruments will not be directly comparable. The spatial resolution also varies significantly between sensors, as well as within a given scene in the case of wide-angle and oblique sensors. As a result, NDVI values will vary according to combinations of the heterogeneity and scale of terrestrial surfaces and pixel footprint sizes. Therefore, the question arises as to the impact of differences in spectral and spatial resolutions on vegetation indices like the NDVI and their interpretation as a drought index. During 2012 three locations (at Salamanca, Granada and Córdoba) were selected and a periodic pasture monitoring and botanic composition were achieved. Daily precipitation, temperature and monthly soil water content were measurement as well as fresh and dry pasture weight. At the same time, remote sensing images were capture by DEIMOS-1 and MODIS of the chosen places. DEIMOS-1 is based on the concept Microsat-100 from Surrey. It is conceived for obtaining Earth images with a good enough resolution to study the terrestrial vegetation cover (20x20 m), although with a great range of visual field (600 km) in order to obtain those images with high temporal resolution and at a reduced cost. By contranst, MODIS images present a much lower spatial resolution (500x500 m). The aim of this study is to establish a comparison between two different sensors in their NDVI values at different spatial resolutions. Acknowledgements. This work was partially supported by ENESA under project P10 0220C-823. Funding provided by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) through project no. MTM2009-14621 and i-MATH No. CSD2006-00032 is greatly appreciated.

Manufacturing of self-passivating tungsten based alloys by different powder metallurgical routes

Self-passivating tungsten based alloys will provide a major safety advantage compared to pure tungsten when used as first wall armor of future fusion reactors, due to the formation of a protective oxide layer which prevents the formation of volatile and radioactive WO3 in case of a loss of coolant accident with simultaneous air ingress. Bulk WCr10Ti2 alloys were manufactured by two different powder metallurgical routes: (1) mechanical alloying (MA) followed by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of metallic capsules, and (2) MA, compaction, pressureless sintering in H2 and subsequent HIPing without encapsulation. Both routes resulted in fully dense materials with homogeneous microstructure and grain sizes of 300 nm and 1 μm, respectively. The content of impurities remained unchanged after HIP, but it increased after sintering due to binder residue. It was not possible to produce large samples by route (2) due to difficulties in the uniaxial compaction stage. Flexural strength and fracture toughness measured on samples produced by route (1) revealed a ductile-to-brittle-transition temperature (DBTT) of about 950 °C. The strength increased from room temperature to 800 °C, decreasing significantly in the plastic region. An increase of fracture toughness is observed around the DBTT.

Ectopic expression of the minimal whiE polyketide synthase generates a library of aromatic polyketides of diverse sizes and shapes

The single recombinant expressing the Streptomyces coelicolor minimal whiE (spore pigment) polyketide synthase (PKS) is uniquely capable of generating a large array of well more than 30 polyketides, many of which, so far, are novel to this recombinant. The characterized polyketides represent a diverse set of molecules that differ in size (chain length) and shape (cyclization pattern). This combinatorial biosynthetic library is, by far, the largest and most complex of its kind described to date and indicates that the minimal whiE PKS does not independently control polyketide chain length nor dictate the first cyclization event. Rather, the minimal PKS enzyme complex must rely on the stabilizing effects of additional subunits (i.e., the cyclase whiE-ORFVI) to ensure that the chain reaches the full 24 carbons and cyclizes correctly. This dramatic loss of control implies that the growing polyketide chain does not remain enzyme bound, resulting in the spontaneous cyclization of the methyl terminus. Among the six characterized dodecaketides, four different first-ring cyclization regiochemistries are represented, including C7/C12, C8/C13, C10/C15, and C13/C15. The dodecaketide TW93h possesses a unique 2,4-dioxaadamantane ring system and represents a new structural class of polyketides with no related structures isolated from natural or engineered organisms, thus supporting the claim that engineered biosynthesis is capable of producing novel chemotypes.

Maximum likelihood estimation of a migration matrix and effective population sizes in n subpopulations by using a coalescent approach

A maximum likelihood estimator based on the coalescent for unequal migration rates and different subpopulation sizes is developed. The method uses a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to investigate possible genealogies with branch lengths and with migration events. Properties of the new method are shown by using simulated data from a four-population n-island model and a source–sink population model. Our estimation method as coded in migrate is tested against genetree; both programs deliver a very similar likelihood surface. The algorithm converges to the estimates fairly quickly, even when the Markov chain is started from unfavorable parameters. The method was used to estimate gene flow in the Nile valley by using mtDNA data from three human populations.

Grain sizes, carbon content and clay minerals of sediments obtained from north Germany and the Baltic Sea

Clay mineralogy and geotechnical properties of Tarras clay, basin clays and tills from some parts of Schleswig-Holstein: Tarras clay of lower Eocene age, Quaternary till containing various admixtures of Tarras clay as well as basin clay and varve-clay from Schleswig-Holstein were investigated. Grain size distribution and soil mechanic characteristics were determined, which indicated different geotechnical properties for each sediment type.

The pearl oysters, Pinctada maxima and P margaritifera, respond in different ways to culture in dissimilar environments

Growth, Condition Index (CI) and survival of the pearl oysters, Pinctada maxima and R margaritifera, were measured in three size groups of oysters over 14 months at two dissimilar environments in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. These were the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in a mainland bay and Orpheus Island Research Station (OIRS) in coral reef waters. Temperature, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and particulate organic matter (POM) were monitored during the study. Temperature at AIMS fluctuated more widely than at OIRS both daily and seasonally, with annual ranges 20-31 degrees C and 22-30 degrees C, respectively. Mean SPM concentration at AIMS (11.1 mg l(-1)) was much higher than at OIRS (1.4 mg l(-1)) and fluctuated widely (2-60 mg l(-1)). Mean POM level was also substantially higher at AIMS, being 2.1 mg l(-1) compared with 0.56 mg l(-1) at OIRS. Von Bertalatiffy growth curve analyses showed that P. maxima grew more rapidly and to larger sizes than P. margaritifera at both sites. For the shell height (SH) of R maxima, growth index phi'=4.31 and 4.24, asymptotic size SHinfinity = 229 and 205 mm, and time to reach 120 mm SH (T-(120))= 1.9 and 2.1 years at AIMS and OIRS, respectively. While for P margaritifera, phi'=4.00 and 4.15, SHinfinity = 136 and 157 mm, and T-(120) = 2.5 and 3.9 years at AIMS and OIRS, respectively. R maxima had significantly lower growth rates and lower survival of small oysters during winter compared with summer. There were, however, no significant differences between the two sites in growth rates of P. maxima and final Cl values. In contrast, P. margaritifiera showed significant differences between sites and not seasons, with lower growth rates, survival of small oysters, final Cl values and asymptotic sizes at AIMS. The winter low temperatures, but not high SPM at AIMS, adversely affected P. maxima. Conversely, the high SPM levels at AIMS, but not temperature, adversely affected P. margaritifera. This was in accordance with earlier laboratory-based energetics studies of the effects of temperature and SPM on these two species. P maxima has potential to be commercially cultured in ca. > 25 degrees C waters with a wide range of SPM levels, including oligotrophic coral reef waters with appropriate particle sizes. It is possible to culture R margaritifera in turbid conditions, but its poor performance in these conditions makes commercial culture unlikely. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.